“SOCMA commends House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp and ranking member Sander Levin for spearheading this bipartisan bill,” said SOCMA president & CEO Lawrence D. Sloan. “The coordination on this bill has taken much effort over many months. We appreciate the work from agencies and Congress that went into this legislation.”

The MTB is a compilation of individual duty suspension bills introduced by members on behalf of companies in their Congressional district or, in the case of a senator, their state. The bills request a duty be suspended on a specific input into a manufacturing process.

The MTB is crucial for SOCMA member companies and manufacturers of all sizes who face higher tariffs on inputs not otherwise available in the U.S. The last MTB passed by Congress in 2010 had been estimated to support more than 90,000 manufacturing jobs and 3.5 billion in GDP growth. The tariff savings from inputs that are not domestically manufactured lowers the cost of manufacturing, making U.S. companies more competitive.

“The MTB allows SOCMA members to continue to support American jobs, reinvesting in innovative businesses and workers,” Sloan added. “With the majority of our members being small and medium sized, this represents one to two jobs at any given facility.”

SOCMA looks forward to working with the members of the House and Senate towards successful passage.